Read Hosea 1.
I can't help but wonder what in the world Hosea thought when this message came to him from God. He knew the message was God given. And so he did it! He had to have been a remarkable man of faith. Often God used symbolism through His prophets to hammer home a lesson. And it always required sacrifice on their part. Think about Hosea ... think about his decision ... think about marrying and knowing what was coming. We learn later in our book that Hosea loved Gomer.
I suspect there may be some of you reading this that know what it means to be betrayed by a spouse ... one you loved ... one you assumed faithfulness. The pain is almost indescribable ... but Hosea KNEW! He knew what would be because God gave him warning ... and told him to do it anyway.
What kind of trust is required for that kind of obedience? I have some lessons to learn about trusting God. I want to have absolute security in the knowledge that the God of all the earth will do right. And even when He asks me to difficult things, to go difficult places, to walk into circumstances that I cannot explain or understand ... God can be trusted.
Has God ever asked you to do something so incredibly difficult that you thought you couldn't do it? He even does that through scripture. And He asks us to trust Him enough to DO IT! For example ...
Romans 14:13 - "Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.
Romans 15: 1 - 2 - "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up."
Romans 15: 7 - "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God."
Ephesians 4: 29 - "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building other up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
Colossians 3:9 - "Do not lie to each other ..."
Colossians 3: 12 - 13 - "As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."
We could go on and on ... the things God tells us to do. Why? Because we are His. Because He has a message to speak through us. Symbolically, we are Christ in flesh again. The world needs to see the Lord ... and God chooses for the world to see Him through us. Amazing ...
Requires great trust ...
Requires great sacrifice ...
Requires being women and men determined to respond to the call of God ...
Are we listening?
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